The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to capacitors.
Competition and market demands have continued the trend toward smaller and higher performance (e.g., faster) electronic systems. As a result, electrical connectors are being designed to transmit signals at higher frequencies and/or at lower voltages. To improve signal quality in such electrical connectors, capacitors are sometimes coupled within signal paths that are within or adjacent the electrical connectors.
For example, some known electrical connectors are mounted on a circuit board. Capacitors may be mounted on the circuit board adjacent the electrical connector and within signal paths of the circuit board that extend from and to the electrical connector. But, only a limited amount of space is available on the circuit board on which the electrical connector is mounted. For example, due to the increased demand for smaller electronic packages and higher signal speeds, circuit boards may not have room for capacitors. Moreover, adding capacitors within the signal paths of the circuit board may negatively impact the electrical performance of the circuit board. For example, the capacitors may necessitate a less than optimal relative arrangement of the various signal paths along the circuit board, which may add noise and/or reduce signal speeds along the signal paths. Moreover, parasitic inductance, capacitance, resistance, and/or the like of capacitors may negatively impact the electrical performance of the circuit board.
Other known higher-speed electrical connectors include separate, discrete capacitors that are held within the electrical connector and coupled within signal paths of the electrical connector, for example using solder. But, providing such discrete capacitors within the signal paths of an electrical connector may make it difficult to match the electrical impedance of the signal paths of the electrical connector with the impedance through the capacitors and/or through a circuit board on which the electrical connector is mounted. Moreover, solder may introduce reliability concerns as the joints between the solder and the signal paths of the electrical connector may be brittle and/or easy to break.